by Cyndi Power
At the age of 18 I was adopted into the Bella Coola tribe in Northern British Columbia. It was an isolated tribe where I learned everything from the basic skills of survival to the healing arts of trance work. Having been a practicing Medicine Woman/Shaman for over 20 years, I have added Reiki to my Shamanic skills and have become a Reiki Master. I am fascinated by how powerfully Reiki works with the traditional healing skills of the Native Americans.
In my training as a medicine woman I was taught to feel the Universal life force energy that runs through all things. I learned how to commune with the spirits of the trees and plants, to ask if they were what I needed to harvest. The life force that flowed through the plant/animal/mineral world was respected and honored. Working with Reiki I have seen humans, plants, and animals revived by Reiki. I believe this is natural since Reiki works directly with the life force that flows through all things.
Not only does Reiki fit in well with the Native American belief system, it can be used in or in conjunction with all of the Shamanic healing practices. There are many healing modalities in the Shamanic path. I mention a few of those which I use to show how I have incorporated the use of Reiki with them.
Herbal remedies are commonly used to balance the physical body and to restore health. Many of the herbs I use must now be purchased so I can not possibly know the attitude and thoughts of the person that harvested the plants. These thought forms can have a significant effect on the healing ability of the herb. If the plant was picked while the person was feeling angry or depressed, that energy will still be attached to the plant and will have a detrimental effect on the action of the herb. To ensure that the energy is positive and coming from a sacred space, I reiki the plants before using them. I also reiki any food before putting it into my body.
An extraction is a method of removing evil spirits or destructive patterns of behavior from an individual. Much like psychic surgery the issue is removed through ritual and given to the earth, the spirit world or the Light to be transmuted. After such a procedure there is a virtual void within the person which needs to be filled with positive energy to facilitate growth and health. This is where I like to use Reiki to fill this area with vibrant loving life force energy.
A soul retrieval is where the Shaman trance journeys through the Void to retrieve soul aspects which the individual has lost. I believe this is the same as what is termed disassociation in psychology. The Shaman finds these missing parts, negotiates for their return and replaces them in the individual. The individual is then responsible for integrating these aspects, seeing what that aspect can teach them and what they will need to do to retain each part. Reiking the individual before the ritual allows them to be more open and centered in the receiving of their soul part. Reiki afterwards facilitates the integration process.
The middle world is one name for the non-ordinary reality that is this world but without the constraints of time and space. Shamans travel through this world as part of their work and Eastern doctrine calls this Astral traveling. Much healing can be done in this manner as the Shaman trance journeys to any location in the present, past or future. For years before I had ever heard of Reiki, my power animals or guides would instruct me to perform a "laying on of hands" for healing in the middle world. Now, with Reiki I use it more often than not and with phenomenal results. Shamanic journeying facilitates the remote healing of Reiki and Reiki further empowers Shamanic journeying.
Shamanic healing and Reiki have existed for thousands of years. Coming from inner wisdom and based on human needs, they are a natural complement to each other. As we open our minds to the possibilities of our greater nature, we discover the unity that exists within all healing techniques.
